Thursday, January 31, 2008

Tony Rezko, the early warnings

Well, my relationship is [that Tony Rezko] was somebody who I knew and had been a supporter for many years. He was somebody who had supported a wide range of candidates all throughout Illinois. Nobody had an inkling that he was involved in any problems....Barack Obama on CBS "Early Show" Jan. 23

Nobody had any indications that [Rezko] was engaging in wrongdoing....Barack Obama on ABC's "Good Morning America" Jan. 23

Here are excerpts from just a few of the bigger stories about Tony Rezko that made headlines in the Tribune prior to the June, 2005 real estate transaction between Barack Obama and Tony Rezko:

A
Winnetka podiatrist selected by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to a serve on a
powerful state health-care oversight panel is a partner in a real
estate venture with a top Blagojevich fundraiser and counselor who
recommended her appointment.

The podiatrist, Fortunee Massuda, was one of several members
appointed by Blagojevich last year to sit on the Illinois Health
Facilities Planning Board after the governor won legislative approval
to overhaulits membership. Aides to Blagojevich said the appointments
were made solely on the basis of professional credentials.

Massuda's connection to Antoin Rezko, the Blagojevich fundraiser and
adviser, was not publicly disclosed when the governor appointed her to
the board last Aug. 12. ...

Rezko has donated about $45,000 to Blagojevich's campaign fund.
Earlier this year, he helped underwrite a West Coast fundraising trip
for the governor. He picked up the $14,000 tab for lodging and meals
and paid $28,000 to charter aircraft.

Two of Rezko's former employees have won key spots in the Blagojevich administration.

By Virginia Groark and John Chase, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune
political reporter Rick Pearson contributed to this report.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich long has vowed to purge the Illinois tollway
of cronyism, yet two of his closest friends and political advisers have
links to food vendors awarded lucrative contracts to operate inside the
toll road's sleek new oases, government records show.

The Subway sandwich shops and Panda Express Asian restaurants now
being installed in the tollway's seven revamped rest stops are
controlled by firms with strong ties to the food-service empire of
Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Blagojevich confidant who has seeded the
governor's cabinet with former business underlings.

Christopher G. Kelly, Blagojevich's chief fundraiser, who also
recommended the tollway's executive director for his job, is an
investor in at least one Rezko-controlled food firm, a spokesman said...

The selection of the Subway and Panda Express restaurants highlights
a tangle of overlapping business interests that trace back to Rezko and
his investor, Kelly--who already is embroiled in a controversy that
prompted prosecutors to investigate charges that he swapped
administration appointments for campaign cash.

City officials alleged Tuesday that a minority contractor at O'Hare
International Airport acted as a front for a firm run by Antoin "Tony"
Rezko, a top adviser and fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich....

Rezko, a member of Blagojevich's kitchen cabinet of advisers, has
come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks following questions about
his links to operators of new tollway oasis franchises. The revamp of
the oases is a showcase project for the Blagojevich administration.

Cook
County Board President John Stroger has selected beleaguered
businessman and political powerbroker Antoin "Tony" Rezko as one of the
honorary chairs of his campaign fundraiser next month.

Rezko, a
wealthy developer who also heads a food service empire, is under fire
from Chicago's City Hall, where procurement officials alleged his
company was running two Panda Express Asian restaurants at O'Hare
International Airport that were supposed to be operated by a
minority-run firm....

Stroger on Thursday defended Rezko as a
"hard-working, legitimate businessman" who has supported his political
efforts for years.

"Tony has been with me from the first day
when no one believed I could run," said Stroger, board president since
1994. "As far as I'm concerned, he's been a super supporter and he's
never done anything that I thought was improper, that seemed improper."

5/20/2006: First lady of Illinois linked to developer

By John Chase, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter Ray Long contributed to this report.

A controversial fundraiser and adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich has
had a business relationship with First Lady Patti Blagojevich for eight
years, the governor's office acknowledged Thursday.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Chicago developer who has been influential in
shaping Blagojevich's administration and policies, has "worked on
various projects" with Patti Blagojevich since 1997, said Cheryle
Jackson, the governor's spokeswoman.

The disclosure marks the first time that the governor's
administration has acknowledged the governor's family has a personal
financial link with a key adviser who helped shape the administration
and is now tied to a variety of controversies involving allegations of
cronyism....

Rezko was one of several Blagojevich associates served with grand
jury subpoenas last week in an investigation into allegations that plum
government appointments were traded for campaign cash, according to
several sources close to the investigation.....

Rezko has been linked to controversies ranging from the awarding of
lucrative restaurant franchises on the Illinois tollway system to his
business partners, to the selection of government appointees with whom
he also has business ties. Two Rezko associates gave Blagojevich
$25,000 each just days after the governor named them to a state panel
that regulates hospital expansion.

The city of Chicago recently moved to revoke fast-food franchises at
O'Hare International Airport controlled by Rezko after contending he
used a minority front to gain access to the lucrative airport business.

5/26/2005
Tony Rezko; Top fundraiser, adviser and close friend of Blagojevich
faces scrutiny as controversies dog the administration in which he has
played a crucial behind-the-scenes role

By John Chase, Tribune staff reporter.

...Just last week, Rezko and the governor's office also acknowledged
to the Tribune that Rezko, through his real-estate developments, has
had a business relationship with the governor's wife since 1997.

In recent months, those ties to the governor have come back to haunt
Rezko with a spate of negative publicity. He has been subpoenaed to
supply any records he may have as part of a criminal investigation into
allegations that the administration traded plum appointments for
campaign cash, several sources close to the investigation have said. He
has not been accused of wrongdoing, and there is no indication that he
is the target of the probe.

He has also been tied to businessmen granted lucrative new franchise
restaurants at the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority's new oases.
And the city says he used a minority front to operate fast food
franchises at O'Hare International Airport....

The public spotlight on Rezko intensified early this year after the
Tribune reported that Panda Express franchises and Subway sandwich
shops run by Rezko business partners had been granted lucrative rights
to operate at newly revamped oases on Illinois toll roads.

In recent years, his firms also have been the subject of lawsuits,
some accusing his companies of being slow to pay back loans for
developments.

...Rezko's link to Jabir Muhammad came under fire this year after
Chicago officials alleged that Muhammad was acting as a front for
Rezko, enabling the developer to control Panda Express restaurants at
O'Hare that were supposed to be controlled by a minority-owned firm.
The city's complaint is pending.

So what if Obama's Tribune subscription had lapsed? The Sun-Times was writing about it, too. These were headlines on some stories in that paper that hinted at Rezko's toxic qualities:

2 state officials say gov's fund-raiser helped get jobs; 'Rezko seems to have a hand in everything,' legislator says May 19, 2005

City accuses O'Hare firm of using minority front; Eateries allegedly run by company owned by gov's fund-raiser March 16, 2005

Gaming Board member testifies of bullying by Blagojevich aide February 25, 2005

Businessman looking to sell chain of pizza places July 16, 2004

UPDATE-- This Obama quote from last weekend's "This Week With George Stephanopolous" strikes a different note: "I did make a mistake by purchasing a small strip of property from him at a time where at that point he was under the cloud of a potential investigation...."

I actually find Obama's willingness to deal with Rezko a positive. It shows that he doesn't run away from people who are facing trouble. The reality is that the media will make much ado about nothing. But he should have saw this coming. I just tend to believe he took a chance because he needed Rezko's help. Now, he has to deal with it just as anyone else.

About "Change of Subject."

"Change of Subject" by Chicago Tribune op-ed columnist Eric Zorn contains observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades, though not necessarily in that order. Links will tend to expire, so seize the day. For an archive of Zorn's latest Tribune columns click here. An explanation of the title of this blog is here. If you have other questions, suggestions or comments, send e-mail to ericzorn at gmail.com.
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Contributing editor Jessica Reynolds is a 2012 graduate of Loyola University Chicago and is the coordinator of the Tribune's editorial board. She can be reached at jreynolds at tribune.com.